Study Reveals the Best and Worst Return Policies of 2016

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As the holiday shopping season fast-approaches, GOBankingRates.com reports in its annual survey of retailer return policies that Nordstrom, Costco and Bed Bath & Beyond are among the stores with the most generous return policies of the year.

Latest GOBankingRates study reveals the best and worst return policies of 2016.

"Knowing retailers' return policies can pay off, especially around the holidays," said Life and Money Columnist Cameron Huddleston. "You don't want to purchase gifts from stores that will make it difficult for recipients to exchange them or get store credit. And you certainly don't want to run into trouble getting a full refund if you end up overspending during the holidays and need to take a few things back."

GOBankingRates ranked return policies from 50 major retailers and stores based on five key factors that make returns easy and customer-friendly.

Based on these rankings, GOBankingRates identified the 10 retailers with the best return policies:

Nordstrom and L.L.Bean stand out because they both allow customers to return items at any time.

Many of the best stores, including Bed Bath & Beyond, allow you to return an item without a receipt and will attempt to track down your transaction.

Many stores – including the best and worst – have stricter policies for certain items, such as electronics and mattresses.

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